Venting to the World

How the Political Divisiveness in America has impacted Dating

Our country has been going through a period of intense political divisiveness for quite a long time now. The recent years remind me of the late 60’s when you were either a conservative or a long haired hippie. Nowadays Republicans and Democrats may look the same, but their opinions or “wissenschaft” (worldview) could not be further apart. Red States vs. Blue States. Pro-life vs. pro-choice. For marital equality or against gay marriage. Pro-government or anti-government. It seems our political realm is split in half, with little choice for a middle ground.

How does this impact the reality of dating in the new millennium? Well, when it comes to online dating, we readily know if someone votes Republican or Democrat (or is a Libertarian or a Communist) based on information from their profile. It is our choice to contact them or not. Decades ago, the chances of meeting someone with a completely different view were smaller, since people would usually date within their circles. If you were dating in College, chances are your love interest would have similar views with you. If you were dating your parents’ friends’ son, chances are you and him shared a similar viewpoint too.

When it comes to dating someone with a very different view of politics, society and religion, not everyone can pull the James Carville-Mary Matalin card. These very essential issues can become a sore point, and avoiding any talk about politics is quite impossible in today’s information loaded world. Not only you need to exert a lot of self-control and respect for the other person, you cannot gloat or make your point of view the only one acceptable. If you are passionate about politics, this might prove to be mighty difficult.

I agree with your analysis and can add that I really don’t date conservative women. And of course, they don’t choose me either. BUt I can converse, rather than argue, with anyone of any political persuasion…..I just wouldn’t want to have to live with them! Talk about walking on eggshells!🙂